John and Yvette Nikolic’s former lawyers say defence strategy could be exposed
Ex-Melbourne horse trainer and convicted drug smuggler John Nikolic “blindsided” his former legal team when he accused them of incompetence, with his ex-lawyer saying the appeal could leave Nikolic exposed.
Police & Courts
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Australian drug smuggler John Nikolic is “flirting with danger” and risks extending his 23-year term in a Fijian prison by turning on his legal team.
The former Melbourne racehorse trainer, who is seeking to have his conviction for cocaine smuggling quashed on appeal, has accused his former counsel of incompetence.
Former lawyer for Yvette Nikolic, Ronald Gordon, on Saturday said his firm had been “blindsided” by John’s claim in court this month.
The move could result in elements of the Nikolics’ defence strategy being exposed, making their situations even worse, Mr Gordon warned.
John Nikolic is 16 months into a minimum 18-year term in notorious Suva Prison, while wife Yvette — believed to be in the Northern Territory — tries to avoid authorities and being served with appeal papers.
“John is flirting with danger here because if legal professional privilege is dissolved or deemed to be waived by John by virtue of his allegations and we are compelled to disclose to the court what John told us in order to defend any allegations of incompetence against us, then it may prejudice John’s appeal and lead to an outcome that he did not expect,” Mr Gordon said.
Sentencing guidelines for drug offences had been handed down in Fiji since the Nikolics’ High Court trial which recommended harsher penalties than John had received, he said.
“He could be looking at an increased term if there was a cross-appeal (from the public prosecutor) on sentence,” Mr Gordon said.
His law firm had not received formal notice it had been sacked by Nikolic, or of his allegations of incompetence, he added.
In fact, it had sought — and been granted — leave to cease acting for him on July 7, after the Nikolic family failed to engage with the firm and pay $2000 for court documents.
“John and his family were not co-operating. They were not sending us the fees to pay for the (High Court) record,” Mr Gordon said.
“We also point out that John has not amended the original grounds of appeal which was expertly prepared by (his counsel) Wasu Pillay and he is only ranting in court that his ‘lawyers’ ... were incompetent.”
Nikolic’s “attack” could also harm his wife’s chances of winning any appeal against her acquittal, launched by the Fiji Office of the Department of Public Prosecutions, he said.
It’s understood authorities are seeking Yvette Nikolic to retry her in Fiji on drug smuggling charges.
It was possible John Nikolic was taking bad advice from “a serving prisoner … acting as a defacto legal adviser to inmates” inside Suva Prison, Mr Gordon said.
“We were shocked … that John was alleging incompetence on the part of his lawyers. No such allegation has ever been put to us by John or his family … we are quite disappointed.”
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